killed in a road rage shooting the new reward tonight. yearbook backlash. what female students are accusing a florida school of doing to their photos the extreme weather striking an ultramarathon. 21 people killed the search for survivors. our nbc news investigation nearly one year after the death of george floyd. the controversial police restraints being used across the country with sometimes deadly results allergy sufferers. why this season is so bad and what to do about it and those two history-making sports moments inspiring america. >> announcer: this is "nbc nightly news" with lester holt good evening, everyone for weeks we've been holding our breath hoping it wasn't fool's gold. but tonight the recovery seems genuine. optimism spreading across the country as the pandemic recedes and the country reopens. while the pace of vaccinations has slowed, nearly half

the population has now receivedleast one dose, and new cases are dropping fast. make no mistake, we are not rid of covid, not by a long shot but with the unofficial start to the summer season just a week away, many americans are determined to make up for lost ground. we can also report tonight the cdc is investigating a small number of teenagers and young adults who have developed a rare inflammation of the heart after receiving their second dose. is there a connection? here's nbc's tom costello >> reporter: a week till memorial day, but america is already on the pandemic rebound festivals, parades, sporting events, graduations and proms. >> we're due for it. last year we lost the summer because of covid, so this year is going to be a big summer >> reporter: tonight the closely watched cdc numbers all point in the right direction. new covid cases at their lowest level since last june. hospitalizations and deaths down dramatically with nearly 50% of americans having rece

>> i just feel more like myself, like back to normal kind of. >> it's not just about you. it's about your obligation >> reporter: today president biden and dr. fauci appeared with several youtube stars encouraging young people to get vaccinated >> the science behind both the safety and the efficacy of the vaccine is truly extraordinary. >> reporter: now new jersey says it's keeping its mask mandate in place for all schools and summer camps, while both l.a. and new york city schools say all kids will be back in the classroom this fall. >> i think a lot of school districts are probably going to start the school year with masks and it's going to be largely out of a sense of uncertainty >> reporter: meanwhile, the cdc is investigating a few dozen cases of young teens who developed myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle, after receiving their second dose but the symptoms were mild and it's not clear the vaccine caused the condition >> this is condition that you can see in children and in

adults and so far they're saying no, there aren't more cases than we would expect. >> and tom, we understand there is a real split going on between states that have vaccinated the most people and states that haven't >> reporter: yeah, nine states have vaccinated at least 70% of their adults, mostly in the northeast. states with the lowest vaccination rates are by and large in the southeast, lester. >> all right, tom costello tonight, thank you. new developments on the possible origins of covid, u.s. intelligence saying researchers at a lab in wuhan, china got sick enough to need hospital care just before the outbreak. sparking fresh debate in whether the pandemic can be traced to that lab. with more on that, here's keir simmons. >> reporter: tonight nbc news confirms the u.s. intelligence report says three researchers at a wuhan lab fell ill and even went to the hospital right before the coronavirus pandemic began. there's been growing speculation the virus

but an earlier joint study by the w.h.o. in china controversially dismissed claims the virus may have leaked from that lab. but back in march a member of that team told us some lab researchers were ill >> did some researchers get sick with flu-like symptoms in the fall of 2019? >> there were occasional illnesses because that's normal. there's nothing that stood out. >> do you remember how many researchers >> maybe one or two. certainly not a big thing. >> reporter: in february a western intelligence official told nbc news the u.s. has substantial intelligence that has not been made public about the actions the chinese government took related to the wuhan lab. and recently dr. fauci became the latest high-profile scientist to question china's theory that the virus came from an animal. >> i'm not convinced about that i think that we should

continue to investigate what went on in china. >> reporter: but some w.h.o. scientists insist china can be trusted. >> can you trust the chinese data >> the science has taken the lead here, and the data don't lie. >> reporter: but just this month another group of international scientists wrote this letter saying we need a transparent, objective, data-driven investigation into how covid began. lester >> all right, keir simmons, thank you we want to turn now to that stunning act in the skies over europe authorities in belarus forcing down a passenger plane to arrest a well-known activist secretary of state blinken condemning that move. with more, here's sarah harman >> reporter: tonight it's being called a state-sponsored hijacking. this commercial ryanair flight from greece to lithuania forced to land while flying over belarus. belarussian authorities at first claimed there was a bomb threat. sniffer dogs on the tarmac >> we just change the direction of flight

and then we go down and to the left. >> reporter: but there wasn't a bomb. instead, it appears to be a brazen operation by the president of belarus, alexander lukashenko, branded europe's last dictator by protesters, a staunch ally of president putin. his target, one of his sharpest critics, 26-year-old journalist roman protasevich, who was on board during the emergency landing eyewitnesses say he panicked. >> trying to split the things like computer give it to girlfriend. >> reporter: the plane eventually continued to lithuania without the journalist or his girlfriend on board. now opposition leaders are fearful. >> i'm sure that he's being tortured because he knows a lot of information. >> reporter: tonight the u.s. is calling for an international investigation, and the eu is telling european airlines to stop flying over belarus. lester >> okay, sarah, thank you. in just 60 seconds, outrage after a high school alters the photos of 80 girls in the yearbook. what the school is saying about that.

breaking news near las vegas tonight. our affiliate ksnv reports of an aircraft associated with the u.s. military has crashed near nellis air force base the type of aircraft and the status of the pilot or crew have not yet been released. heartbreak here in southern california. a manhunt for the shooter who killed a 6-year-old boy during a road rage incident near anaheim the boy's family pleading for the public's help. here's nbc's miguel almaguer >> reporter: on this busy southern california freeway the call for help. >> shots fired, northbound 55. >> reporter: is now followed by a mother's desperate plea to catch a killer >> i want them to pay for what they've done. >> reporter: joanna cloonan says her 6-year-old aden was

strapped to his booster seat in the back seat on their way to pre-kindergarten when a car in orange cut her off. >> i heard a -- a loud noise, and i heard my son say "ow. and he had been shot >> reporter: in a fit of road rage, a shot pierced the vehicle's trunk, striking aden >> i tried to save him, but he's losing a lot of blood >> reporter: the 6-year-old who had just celebrated his birthday did not survive. investigators shutting down and scouring the freeway for clues, tightlipped on what leads, if any, they have in their manhunt for a female driver and male passenger in a white volkswagen that sped away in recent years, aaa says there's been roughly 30 murders a year from road rage. investigators are asking anyone with dash cam video to step forward. aiden's family is now offering a $50,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest a family already paying an unimaginable toll >> we all loved him so much >> reporter: miguel almaguer, nbc news, orange, california

a digital cover-up causing outrage tonight among students at a florida high school and their parents. blayne alexander tells us more about that >> reporter: when riley o'keefe and zoe iannone got their bartram trail high school yearbooks, they flipped straight to their pictures and were shocked by what they saw >> it's the first thing you notice i felt very uncomfortable. >> reporter: these are the original photos and here's what appeared in the yearbook the images edited to cover up more of their chest. and they weren't the only ones. at least 80 female students at the high school in saint john's county, florida found their outfits altered, deemed dress code violations after the pictures were taken. >> now their body parts are of additional focus and attention that never would have been there in the first place if the school hadn't called attention to it >> immediately i -- my blood started to boil. >> reporter: these families say the dress code needs to change, calling it a double standard >> when the school goes and edits out my cleavage in a photo

but decides that a swim team photo is okay in speedos, it just sends the message that my body is inappropriate. >> reporter: the superintendent told us tonight there was not a sufficient review before the edits, adding "there has never been an intent to embarrass or shame any student for the clothes that they wear." and the parents told us when they asked about the quality of the editing, they were told it was a product of being short-staffed. lester >> all right, blayne, thank you. tomorrow marks one year since george floyd's death which brought renewed scrutiny of police restraint practices. an nbc news investigation with the marshal project found their use has sometimes been deadly. here's gabe gutierrez, and i have to warn you the videos are disturbing >> stay back >> reporter: this body camera video shows the tense moments that still haunt vanessa peoples.en do you think about what happened >> every day >> reporter: in 2017

police in aurora, colorado came to her home with a social worker for a child welfare check. >> stay back >> reporter: the encounter escalated quickly. >> i don't have to stay back. >> stay back >> get the [ bleep ] -- get your hand off -- [ screaming >> the next thing i knew, they threw me down on the ground and they had my arm behind my back. and i kept telling them, i said, there's something wrong. my arm doesn't feel right. it hurts and he had his knee in my back. and it was like at that moment, i felt like i was going to lose my life >> reporter: the device officers used to restrain her is known as a hobble and involves tying a person's hands and feet behind their back while on their stomach. an analysis of data nbc news obtained found she is one of roughly 350 people who have been hobbled by the aurora police department in the last five years >> reporter: police say it is used on the most aggressive people >> i wasn't treated like a human being >> reporter: when fastening the feet and

hands together the method is called a hogtie around the country since 2010 nbc news has identified at least 23 people who have died following a hogtie or hobble >> imagine your closest sibling, looking at them die. >> reporter: kimberly smith says her brother marcus was in crisis and seeking help from the police >> tell me where you want to go first >> reporter: this video from 2018 shows the last moments of his life >> we'll help you but you've got to -- >> reporter: he's unarmed as he approaches police outside a music festival in greensboro, north carolina police hogtie him so tightly his knees are off the ground he stops breathing and later dies the next morning in a press release police said smith had collapsed in custody and that officers rendered aid the autopsy declared the death a homicide no police were charged. in response to a suit by smith's family, the city says the restraint was appropriate in light of the safety risk he posed to himself and others >> i had no idea what a hogtie was i had no clue. that's how you treat an animal. >> reporter: as for vanessa peoples, who was restrained and

survived, the city settled her case for $100,000 >> i know that she was injured, which is what we want to completely avoid in cases when we use the hobble or any restraint system >> reporter: chief vanessa wilson makes a clear distinction between a hobble shown here and a hogtie. but aurora police did not have a policy banning the hogtie until 2019 >> the hogtie is absolutely not safe. >> reporter: is the hobble method safe >> it is safe, but i want to do better. >> reporter: her department is now trying out a different kind of restraint using what's known as a wrap device demonstrated here. most importantly, the person is upright. >> it's a better way of dealing with individuals that are in crisis and that are agitated >> reporter: but for vanessa peoples, the updated training comes too late >> i have to walk around every day knowing that it happened and there's really nothing that i could do but just live with it. >> reporter: gabe gutierrez, nbc news, aurora, colorado there are calls for greater safety precautions in china tonight after 21 people died in an

ultramarathon race many were dressed in t-shirts and shorts when they were hit by brutal winds, freezing rain and hail during the 62-mile race up next for us here tonight, why seasonal allergies are back with a vengeance.

it's not your im do about it. >> reporter: while many are welcoming a return to the outdoors, for others it also marks the return of seasonal

allergies. >> my eyes have been really watery. >> stuffy, runny nose, headaches, pressure here and here. >> it's been feeling different this year for some reason. >> reporter: allergists are noticing it, too appointments filling up fast. >> i think my first available is september or october >> reporter: dr. rita kachru blames a combination of factors. >> now that people are opening up and they're taking their masks off we're seeing an increase in pollen allergy. >> reporter: researchers found pollen season became 20 days longer between 1990 and 2018. and pollen counts were up more than 20% >> climate change was the biggest driver of seasons getting longer and a substantial driver of seasons getting worse with more pollen in the air. >> reporter: increasing temperatures mean plants starting their growing season earlier and making more pollen doctors recommend keeping windows closed at night, rinsing your face and hair and changing clothes after being outside.

and if your doctor recommends it, take medications before symptoms start you can always hang on to your mask if pollen counts are high. a few steps to make sure you're not stuck inside all season. kristen dahlgren, nbc news now to our series "kids under pressure" and the crisis within the pandemic impacting so many young people stephanie gosk on the rise in eating disorders. >> reporter: isolated in her room because of covid with no school and unable to see friends, 16-year-old chloe melton's eating disorder went from bad to dangerous >> i was in a controlled environment. which the eating disorder thrives in. i was able to make all of my meals. i would isolate in my room i was eating dinner at 2:00 >> reporter: why were you eating dinner at 2:00 >> intermittent fasting. the internet told me that that was healthier. >> reporter: the weight dropped fast, slowing her heart to under 40 beats per minute was it easy in those moments not to feel

bad about the behavior because you didn't have anyone looking at it >> yeah. yeah, definitely there were things i definitely knew i wasn't supposed to be doing that i did because i was by myself >> reporter: three months into the pandemic chloe was diagnosed with anorexia, and ended up in an atlanta hospital at that same time patients just like chloe were also flooding boston children's hospital. >> typically we would see three to four patients with eating disorders on our inpatient service. post-pandemic we were routinely over 10 and getting as many as 15 or 16. >> reporter: that's three, four, five times the number of patients that you'd normally see >> absolutely. and i would say it's not just the volume but the complexity and the severity >> reporter: dr. tracy richmond is the director of the eating disorders program at boston children's. >> i'd say a picture is worth a thousand words here >> reporter: it's all so heartbreaking >> absolutely. i mean, these are kids who should not be in a medical hospital setting. they should be at home and in school and thriving

>> reporter: dr. richmond reached out to eight other hospitals in the country and found a similar surge in severe eating disorder cases. patient numbers doubling >> we're seeing kids from all sort of racial and ethnic backgrounds, all sorts of socioeconomic backgrounds. >> reporter: we are coming out of this pandemic people are taking off masks, kids are back in school. is this going to get better for you >> you know, i really worry about this next wave, to be honest i've had some patients who have told me they're really hesitant to go back. we're going to see ramifications for a long time in our adolescents' mental health >> reporter: chloe said she struggles every day. but she hopes her recovery might help someone else >> it's scary. it never gets less scary until you keep doing it and it's so worth it >> stephanie, you have to wonder, does this spike tell a larger story about children's mental health right now? >> reporter: yes, lester experts say it really does the doctor i spoke with at boston children's actually describes the mental health illnesses triggered by isolation and school closures as a second pandemic. lester

>> all important information for parents. stephanie, thank you up next the amazing athletes inspiring america.

they soared into unfamiliar territory one athlete defying age, the other defying difficulty both making history. it was a one-two punch in the world of sports this weekend after not competing in more than 18 months, simone biles is back on the mat and with a new skill.

it's called the yurchenko double pike. so difficult no other woman has ever attempted it in competition. >> i have a tendency, as soon as i raise my hands to kind of overpower things and i did a little bit, but at least i was on my feet it's a new vault i'm proud of how today went >> reporter: the five-time olympic medalist sporting a rhinestone goat on her leotard signifying, you guessed it, the greatest of all time but biles wasn't the only athlete making history this weekend swarmed by fans walking to the 18th hole, at the age of 50 phil mickelson became the oldest golfer ever to win a major championship the now six-time major winner beating out favored brooks koepka by two strokes for the pga championship >> i mean, this is just an incredible feeling because i just believed that it was possible, but yet everything was saying it wasn't. and i hope that others find that inspiration. >> also getting a hat

tip from long-time competitor tiger woods who tweeted, "truly inspirational to see phil mickelson do it again at 50 years of age. congrats." biles and mickelson, two greats cementing their names in history once again >> it's a big wow for both of them that's "nightly news." thanks for watching. please take care of yourself and each other. ♪ ♪ ♪ never had much faith in love ♪ or miracles (ooh!)

♪ never wanna put my heart on ♪ the line (ooh!) ♪ but swimming in your water's ♪ something spiritual (ooh!) ♪ i'm born again every time you ♪ spend the night (ooh!) ♪ 'cause your sex takes me to ♪ paradise ♪ yeah your sex takes me to ♪ paradise ♪ and it shows yeah yeah yeah ♪ 'cause you make me feel like ♪ i've been locked out of heaven ♪ for too lo-o-ong for too ♪ lo-o-ong ♪ oh-oh-oh-oh yeah yeah yeah ♪ can i just stay here ♪ spend the rest of my♪ cause ye

♪ i've been locked out of heaven ♪ for too lo-o-ong for too ♪ lo-o-ong ♪ yeah you make me feel like ♪ i've been locked out of heaven ♪ for too lo-o-ong for too ♪ lo-o-ong [cheers and applause] welcome to the kelly clarkson show. give it up to my band y'all, yo look so cute in those dresses. that was locked out of heaven five bruno mars. bobby from nyc requested it. why did you want to see it? >> hey.